The Ashkenazi diaspora is composed principally of exiles from the First Temple period who did not return to the Land of Israel during the Second Temple. As a result, their consciousness is imprinted with the experience of a nation that has not yet returned from exile.
In contrast, the Sephardim returned from the Babylonian exile and are descendants of the exiles of the Second Temple. When we heard of the blue and white flag, the Hatikva anthem, and the Israeli soccer team, we immediately saw in them signs of national redemption and integrated them in a natural way into the community.